Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club
Proprietors of good, clean chaos

April 11- April 24, 2002 * Vol. 7, No. 16
Club Owner by Paul Smith (reprinted with permission)

In the middle of a Sandoval set, frontman/guitarist Tony Ladesich got KO'd by his bass player - the guitar banged Ladesich's head during an aerial maneuver, knocking him unconscious for half a minute as Sandoval played on.	Michelle Markowitz mixing a tall one at Davey's Uptown. (photo by Carrie Becker)
Call it one of many pleasant memories Ladesich has of his favorite Kansas City bar.

"When I came to, I remembered thinking: I love this place," Ladesich said. "If I'm going to get knocked out on stage, it's going to be at Davey's Uptown Rambler's Club."

The latent sense of chaos at Davey's Uptown affects both performers and audience inspiring some - like a guest member of Mr. Marco's V7 - to saw into the stage after using the tool as an instrument. Beyond that, fans can be a little mellower, showing appreciation with shots, graffiti and loud, affectionate applause.

Owner Michelle Markowitz emphasizes that it's all good-clean chaos and typical for the alt-country hub of Kansas City. "The customers make the atmosphere here," she said. "We don't encourage chaos, but when it occurs we try to make it as much fun as possible."

Davey's Uptown is among the best destination bars in Kansas City. Most of the crowd comes for the music, given the limited food menu. "We have whisky, great beer and great live entertainment," Michelle said.

In addition to the fans, Davey's Uptown draws local musicians, among them guitarist DJ Clem of Trouble Junction. "It's the local hangout," Clem said. "There are lots of nutty people in this town and a good portion of them happen to play music."

The Davey's attraction for Trouble Junction is mutual: "Michelle has shown us a lot of love," Clem said. "And we love to play at Davey's because we'd be there drinking if we weren't up on stage."

Local country crooner Rex Hobart has played the stage at Davey's Uptown for five years and still looks forward to many raucous performances to come with the Misery Boys. "We like the atmosphere," Hobart said. "It's gritty but not necessarily dangerous."

In fact, the only danger a newcomer may face at Davey's is finding a new band to follow. The front doors are usually covered with flyers posted by upcoming bands and the former stage area in the front bar room is plastered with the stickers of bands who have made their mark such as Mr. Marco's V7, the Electrophonic Foundation and Ultimate Fakebook. Framed photographs of familiar icons such as Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia and Chuck Berry hang above booths and the mahogany bar, lending a sense of welcome and creative affirmation.

"Davey's has got a feel," Hobart continued. "It's gritty and homey....I think that has to do with its being there so long. It is such an established venue."

Its first incarnation came around 1933 as the Uptown Club, then located at 3535 Broadway and owned by David Markowitz. Not long after returning from World War II, Markowitz saw his bar go up in flames after a restaurant next door exploded. He later purchased the Bow and Arrow Rambler's Club, dropping some words and adding his Davey's nickname to the billing. Davey's Uptown Rambler's Club opened for business in 1950 at its current Main Street location.

Politics was a part of business almost from the start. During Prohibition Markowitz was a bootlegger, justifying Davey's claim that the place has served liquor since 1925. Markowitz also had ties to the Pendergast machine as a ward leader, and a local Democratic club met regularly at his bar.

Davey's Uptown no longer has any recognizable political affiliation for practical reasons: Michelle is a dyed-in- the-wool Democrat, her younger brother and co-owner Mike is on the other side of the political fence.

After spending a year in New York City working as a United Nations interpreter, Michelle returned to Kansas City in 1979 to help her father at the bar. She and Mike took over management in 1986, a few years before their father passed away.

"Davey's is no longer a political establishment," Mike said. "It's the live music capital of Kansas City."

Live music is Michelle's legacy, especially since the bands didn't initially mesh with her father's vision. "He was in agreement with the music when he saw how good it was for the club," Michelle said. "We didn't tell him about it for a while."

While the venue has a reputation as an alt-country joint, Mike claims that Davey's Uptown set the local trend of booking bands of various types, from rock to metal to industrial, blues and straight-up country. Michelle does the booking, both local bands well as regional and national acts. Her only major stipulation, other than quality, is a focus on original material. "I'd rather have 45 minutes of originals than 90 minutes of covers," she said.

"She takes chances, and lets young bands play there," said Ladesich, "and most of the time those bands pay off."

Among such bands would be local legend The Sin City Disciples (who made their home at Davey's Uptown), and relative newcomers The Welterweights as well as Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys.

"I wouldn't consider Davey's necessarily a country place," Hobart said. "I've been in and out of a lot of honky-tonk places and it definitely feels like honky-tonk, at least when I show up."

A trip to the bar is never complete without a walk through the small portal leading into the side room - fiefdom of long-time sound guy Andrew Phegley. It's the place where the bands show up with their amps, and the reason music fans rarely venture back to the front bar once the music starts. Michelle and Mike added the space in 1996, a few years after an adjoining restaurant closed. No longer do patrons get a deafening sound-slap in the face when they step through the front door.

"That addition basically put us on the map," Mike said. "Before then, we really were just a dive."

Maybe so, but it's about family, too. "I chose to stay in the business because the bar is like a family tradition," Michelle said. "And I developed a great love for the entertainment."

With two children of her own, Michelle suspects that Davey's Uptown will remain a family business for perhaps a third generation. "Somebody will come along and grab that torch and run like hell," she said.